Celtics Take Game 1 Against the Sixers

Boston was led by their two young stars Jayson Tatum (32 points, 13 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (29 points and 6 rebounds). On the other hand, Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 26 points and 16 rebounds despite the loss.

These two teams have seen a lot of each other in the playoffs in the past. The Sixers and Celtics have met more times in the postseason than any other two teams. In their last match up, Boston out-dueled Philadelphia in the 2018 Eastern Conference semifinals in five games.

In the regular season, the Sixers beat the Celtics three out of four times. However, a big part of those victories for the Sixers was the presence of all-star guard/forward Ben Simmons. Simmons recently left the NBA bubble to receive surgery on his knee. He will not be returning to play in this series due to the surgery. We are still unsure if he will have the chance to return at all this season. Speaking of injuries, Gordon Hayward was helped off the floor with three minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Hayward’s status for Wednesday’s game is still uncertain.

We all know how big of a role Hayward plays for the Celtics. This year he was averaging above 17 points and started to play like the all-star he once was before his gruesome injury.

Boston will take on Philadelphia for game two Wednesday night at 6:30 PM. Catch the game on ESPN.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @MikeQuinn08 for more of my Celtics content!

Also be sure to check out the Overtime Heroics Forums!